Margot’s white décolletage night gown
In the attempted murder scene, Margot gets out of bed wearing a flimsy white night gown, featuring a deep décolletage. This night gown perfectly expresses the duality of Margot’s character. On one hand, she is the frail and naïve wife, who can be easily manipulated by her crafty husband. She is the innocent victim of a brutal physical attack. Margot’s fragility and victimization are expressed through the whiteness of her gown. The white colour highlights her vulnerability and passivity. However, this white gown features a plunging neckline and is exquisitely embellished with lace. The cut of the gown is extremely revealing, which completely exposes the wearer’s arms. The décolletage and the lace stand for Margot’s potent sexuality. A white, lacy gown features a deep neckline is a perfect manifestation of Margot’s conflicted character. She is a woman who hides a potent sexual allure behind a virginal façade. She may look the part of a devoted wife, but she is in fact a fallen woman who attempts to conceal a sinful extramarital affair from her husband’s knowledge.
Margot’s pale pink robe at breakfast’s table
In Margot’s first appearance in the film, she is wearing a simple pale pink morning robe while having breakfast with her husband. This scene seems to be the perfect domestic scene in which everything looks blissful, tranquil, contented and cozy. The pale pink colour of Margot’s robe is muted and unassuming. The cut of the robe is deeply conservative which completely conceals the wearer’s body. This pink robe is a symbol of Margot’s emotionally unrewarding marriage. In terms of garment, muted colour and conservative cut are usually the indications of emotional and sexual suppression. The conservative cut, the unassuming colour and the prudish looking flower embroidery of the robe are all suggestions of a sexually unfulfilling marriage. The robe also looks frumpy and prosaic, which further indicate that Margot’s marriage is bereft of excitement and romance.
Margot’s fiery lace dress in her meeting with Mark
Margot’s fiery red lace dress creates such a powerful visual impact that it is almost disturbing to the viewer’s senses. This fiery lace dress simply oozes of sexuality. The dress is strapless with a plunging décolletage. The bolero is made from exquisite lace. When Margot leaves the apartment with Marc, she further ups the glamour factor by wrapping a fur stole around herself. Strapless gown, lace, fur stole and the red colour are all traditional symbols of sexuality, glamour and passion. This outfit reflects the volcanic passion of Margot’s affair. It stands in stark contrast to the muted colour of her conservative looking morning gown, when she was having breakfast with her cuckolded husband. In this film, Margot literally wears her heart on her sleeves. Her choices of garments reflect her current emotional state. The fiery lace dress perfectly expresses her emotional intensity and her unbridled passion in the presence of her lover. When she is united with her lover, Margot would resort to every device and instrument to make herself look sexually appealing, such as fur, lace and the strapless cut. No trapping is too extreme for a woman in the grip of passion.
Tony pats on Margot’s cheeks
After Tony conceals the latchkey underneath the carpet, he believes that he has planned the most perfect murder and that Margot is sure to die that night. Before he leaves the apartment building, a confident and triumphant Tony playfully pats Margot’s cheeks and bids her farewell. When he pats her cheeks, his voice and gesture are charged with contempt and triumph. Margot instantly notes this, her face registers pain and confusion. For Tony, this is the supreme moment of revenge. He has been playing the part of a meek and cuckolded husband. For most of his marriage, his wife assumes the dominant role, controlling the purse strings and cheating behind his back. Tony can not even afford to fall out with his wife on account of his financial dependency on her. By planning an elaborate plan to be rid of his wife, Tony is practically seeking to reverse the balance of power in his favour. As Tony contemptuously pats Margot’s cheeks hours before his attempted murder, he succeeds to reverse the power balance. Margot is no longer the powerful purse holder, she has been reduced to the status of a disposable object and is about to be brutally eliminated under the hands of Tony’s henchman. The image of Tony patting Margot’s cheeks is a visual manifestation of the objectification of woman. Margot may be enjoying financial power, but she still cannot escape the fate of being objectified, victimized and brutalized under the hands of men. The objectification of women seems to be an unavoidable occurrence in a patriarchal society.
The policeman who carries Margot’s handbag on his arm
The Chief Inspector Hubbard loudly objects to his colleague leaving the Wendice’s apartment with Margot’s handbag on his arm. When Hubbard sees a man with a woman’s handbag dangling from his arm, he is both horrified and scandalized. Hubbard’s horror at his colleague’s behavior indicates the firmly partitioned gender behavior of the 1950’s. During this era, each sex must act in a culturally accepted manner. Gender transgression in this era is viewed as a dangerously subversive behavior and is not socially accepted. Men must act in a manly fashion, and to don the conventional masculine attire of suits and fedora hat. A woman’s handbag is a symbol of the female sexuality. A man walking down the street with a female handbag on his arm is the most blatant manifestation of gender transgression. Society’s disapproval towards this kind of behaviour is such that a man with a woman's handbag is in risk of being arrested on the streets. A man with a woman’s handbag also smacks of homosexuality. Both gender transgression and homosexuality are publicly denounced behaviors during this conservative and narrow-minded era; therefore it is of small wonder that Hubbard should display such shock and dismay towards the sight of a man with a woman's handbag.
